“Cabin Fever” was the film that got director Eli Roth (“Hostel”, “Green Inferno”) a lot of attention. This a movie that has some really terrifying concepts in it but ultimately, it’s a little bit of a mess. It’s not really clear what the film is trying to be as it’s all over the place.

A group of teens are celebrating their university graduation by renting a remote cabin in the woods. A seriously ill stranger approaches them for help. They fear infection so try to get him to keep his distance. As time goes by, they become increasingly concerned that they may have caught the horrible virus that eats away at the flesh of the host. This sparks friction with locals, who are determined to stop the spread of the disease.

The teens are not particularly engaging but they are not as bad as the teens in many horror films. The locals present a real problem in the movie. I had no clue whether they were meant to be scary, funny or some combination of the two. I don’t think the filmmakers are sure either. There are also animals in the movie that also present problems for those staying in the cabin. Eli Roth has a cameo as a stoner.

Clearly “Evil Dead” played a big part in inspiring this movie but it also reminded me of the film “Matango” from Japan with the sequences depicting the disease. The special effects for the disease are terrific. The movie does a good job at building tension but then it throws in bizarre comedic scenes that just don’t work. Also, the editing annoyed me with the constant fading to black. I think the movie is confused about what it’s really about. Is the threat the disease, the animals, the teens themselves or the locals? It throws way too much at the audience.